Improvement in bedsteads



Bedsteads.

I Patented-1 une 23,1874.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE..

JULIA B. FRENCH, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN BEDSTEADS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 152.357., dated .lune 23, 1874; application filed June 1, 1574.

To all 'whom fit may concern Be it known that I, JULIA B. FRENCH, of Boston, Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bedsteads, of which the following is a speeilieation:

My invention has been designed with a view oi' utilizing the space which in ordinary bedsteads is left under the bed. To this'end I provide the bedstead with drawers, located beneath the bed and below the side rails, and opening from one or both sides of the bed. In lieu ofthe slats ordinary employed, I form this part of the bed, which I shall call the bed-bottom, of a continuous sheet of wood or other material. which constitutes at. once a support for the bed-springs or mattress, and a cover to et'ectually exclude dust and dirt from the drawers below. I prefer to divide the bed-bottom longitudinally into two equal parts, each of which is supported on one side by one of the bed-rails, and on the other side by a center rail or brace, extending from the headboard to the foot-board, and deriving an intermediate support from transverse walls or guides, which at once serve as rest-s for the center brace, and as supports and guides for the drawers.

The construction described is Vthat which is best adapted for a double bedstead. For sin gle bedsteads it may be feasible to make the bed-bottom of a single piece, and in such bedsteads I contemplate having the drawers to open from but one side of the bed.

The transverse wall or guide above alluded to may be hollow or of box form, with covers on top, which can only be opened by removing the bed-bottom. The box would thus form a secret compartment, where valuables could be stored and safely kept. y

The construction of my bedstead is such that the drawers and transverse walls may be removed, in which case the bedstead will pre-- sent the appearance of an ordinary bedstead.

In the accompanying drawings I have represented one way in which my invention can conveniently be carried into elfect.

Figure l is a perspective view of a double bedstead made in accordance with my invention, a portion of the bed-bottom being broken away to indicate Vmore clearly the position and arrangement of the drawers. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the transverse hollow guidewall and receptacle above referred to, detached, with one ofthe lock-plates which are provided on the under edges of the side rails for engaging and holding it in place.

A is the head-board; B, the foot-board, and U C the side rails. These parts are constructed and put together in the ordinary way, save that the head and foot boards extend down nearer to the floor than has heretofore been customary. Midway between the head and foot boards is the transverse wall D, which may be either solid or hollow. In this case it is of box form, open on top, as shown in Fig. 2. On each side, .along its lower edge, it is provided with a horizontal ledge or flange, a, designed to serve as the way or guide-ledge,

upon which, in conjunction with similar guides on the head and foot boards, the drawers will be supported, and can be moved out and in. In this instance, as the bed is broad, I provide for two sets of drawers, one on each side of the bed, and I therefore provide the box D with an upright ledge or stop, b, which serves to limit the extent to which the oppositely-arranged drawers can be pushed in. A similar upright ledge or stop is provided on the hea-dboard, and the foot-board, also. Between the head and foot boards, and 'alon g the longitudinal center line of the bed, extends the removable central brace-slat E, which, at its ends, is supported by the head and foot boards, and at its center rests on the top of the box D, at a point between the two compartments, into which the box is divided. This brace serves as a.- support for the divided bed-bottom F, one halfof which (partly broken away) is shown in Fig. l. This half is supported at its outer edge on a ledge, projecting as usual, from the inner face of one ofthe side rails, and at its inner edge rests on the center brace E. The other half of the bed-bottom, when in place, is supported by the other side rail and center brace in a similar manner; and the contiguous edges of the two parts of the bed-bottom are held together, and down on the brace E, by means of turn-pins or latches c, or other suitable devices. The box D is provided with covers d, which should be llush with, or not above the plane of, the brace E. The guide wall or box D is, preferably, removable, and for this purpose is united with the side rails by a joint, such, for instance, as indicated in Fig. 2. The box at each end is provided with a headed pin, e, which is designed to interlock with a plate, j', 011e of which is iiXed on the under edge of each guide-rail. Each plate is formed with a hole, g, of a size to admit the head ofthe pin, and a communicating slot, h, of a narrow width, sufficient only for the passage of the shank of the pin. The bed-rail back of the hole and slot g h is recessed, so as to admit of the insertion ofthe head of pin c.

In fitting the part D to the bed, the heads of pins e are first entered into and through the holes of the locking-plates. Then the box 'is moved along in the direction of slots h, in order to cause the shanks of pins c to enter those slots, in which position the enla-rged heads of the pins, being incapable of passing down through the slots, will serve to hold the box tightly in place on the side rails. The box may be provided on its under side with a central roller or caster, to take abearing on the iloor, and thus resist the pressure that might otherwise be exerted with injurious effeet upon it through the superposed braceslat E.

The drawers are represented at Gr, and their arrangement will be readily understood without further description. In this instance they open from both sides of the bed; but in the case of a single bed there need be but one set arranged to open from one and the same side of the bed.

It will be noted that the parts D G can be readily removed when desired, leaving' the bed to resemble an ordinary bedstead. But

it will not be found necessary in practice to remove for this purpose the part D, which may be allowed to remain without detriment to the appearance of the bed; and there may be a box-like receptacle, similar to the receptacle D, at the head or foot, or both head and foot, of the bed.

In the drawing, the bed-bottom is represented as provided with springs; but any other devices can be used. A wire mattress could be substituted for them, or the bedding could rest directly on the bed-bottom.

In the case of a single bedstead, it may be found desirable to have one drawer to open from the foot-board, while the other drawer or drawers open from the side, a-s before provided.

Having described my invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be carried into effect, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. rlhe combination, with the head and foot boards, side rails, transverse guides, and lat erally-openin g drawers, of the bed-bottom, constructed as described, to constitute at once a cover for the drawers and a support for the bed-springs, mattress, or bed proper.

2. The divided bed-bottom, in combination with the center brace-slat and the transverse guide wall or boX, supporting` the same at a point intermediate between its two ends, substantially as shown and set forth.

3. In combination with the laterally-opening drawers, the transverse hollow guide-wall, constituting a compartment or receptacle, accessible only from the top, as and for the purposes set forth.

4. In combination with the side rails, the removable transverse guide wall or walls, substantially as shown and set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name this lst day of June, A. D. 1874.

JULIA B. FRENCH. IVitnesses EWELL A. Droit, HENRY It. ELLIOTT. 

